Enraged by the arrest of self-styled godman Asaram Bapu, his followers and supporters stopped several trains at Ulhasnagar’s railway tracks in the neighbouring Thane district on Sunday afternoon. With fewer trains plying due to the mega block, the commuters were further inconvenienced as protesters crowded the railway tracks near Ulhasnagar and forced the administration to halt the trains at 12.55 pm. This rail roko staged by Asaram supporters lasted around 40 minutes and resulted in the delay of local trains between the Kalyan-Karjat route for over 45 minutes.
In another protest, a few Asaram supporters gathered at the Sion railway station and halted a train. However, the protesters left the station after around ten minutes and services were resumed thereafter. One of the protesters said, “Bapuji has been framed in a false case. We are demanding the immediate release of Asaram and an apology from the government.” Asaram was arrested from his ashram in Indore at midnight on Sunday by the Jodhpur police. His arrest was followed by an FIR filed by a 16-year-old girl, alleging sexual harassment at the hands of Asaram at his ashram in Jodhpur.
“The protesters did not harm the railway property and left the tracks peacefully. Though, our forces were ready to combat the protesters had they disrupted the services,” said an officer from the Central Railway.
However, the commuters were inconvenienced by the protests. “We were stuck in Dombivali. The rail roko protest made the situation worse,” said a commuter.